Computers and computing devices are becoming common appliances in homes, offices, medical facilities, schools, manufacturing plants, and elsewhere. Customized computing devices that are based upon conventional personal computer architectures are also being deployed to support specific applications, such as medical testing, remote data communication with IMDs, automotive diagnostics, and the like. Furthermore, wireless data communication with computing devices and computer networks is becoming increasingly common. Such wireless data communication requires data transmission in accordance with a specific data communication protocol, a wireless transceiver, and a suitable antenna structure configured to transmit and receive signals, typically via a radio frequency (“RF”) data communication link.
In practical applications, an RF antenna is attached to a wireless network card that is inserted into the computing device. In many compact devices, e.g., notebook computers, the wireless data communication card is received into a slot or receptacle in the computing device, where the slot or receptacle is sized and configured in accordance with an accepted standard. For example, one standard format is defined by the Personal Computer Memory Card Interface Association (“PCMCIA”), and most portable computing devices have a PCMCIA slot that is configured to receive PCMCIA cards, including PCMCIA wireless networking cards. In conventional systems, the RF antennas for wireless cards remain outside of the computing device housing (even when the cards are fully inserted into the card slot) to avoid signal interference with the hardware and metal structures found within the housing of the computing device. This situation is depicted in FIG. 1, which shows a notebook computer 100 and a wireless data communication card 102 inserted into a slot 104 formed within notebook computer 100. While this arrangement may result in adequate RF performance, the protruding wireless data communication card 102 is susceptible to tampering, damage, and inadvertent dislodging.
Accordingly, it is desirable to have a compact, efficient, and effective RF antenna structure suitable for use with a wireless data communication card for a computing device (e.g., a personal computer, an IMD telemetry component, or the like). In addition, it is desirable to have a wireless data communication card having an integrated RF antenna that does not protrude from the computing device when the card is inserted into the computing device. Furthermore, other desirable features and characteristics of the present invention will become apparent from the subsequent detailed description and the appended claims, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and the foregoing technical field and background.